The Republican Senators have yet another repeal and replace health care bill in the works. It appears as if everybody in America agrees that this latest shot at the legacy fish in the Obama-era barrel is a dog. There are something like 50 nationally recognized organizations e.g., AMA, AARP, major corporations, Planned Parenthood and the CBO, etc. that say it’s a real stinker. So, if everybody is against it, why are these Republicans so rabidly for it?
Well, I may have an answer for that. The primary concern of a Senator is re-election, and re-election calls for a constituency. So what constituency is it that the Republicans might be appealing to? I think it is donors. That is, Republicans equate money with votes and the donors are where the money is. It’s the reason they pushed so hard for Citizens United.
There you have it. Once again it appears that the injection of money into America’s political bloodstream is the germ that will kill us. Somehow, in some way, we have to elect people who are focused on governance not re-election, and who are not dependent on money to get there.
It calls for national funding of elections. With real governance, perhaps we could end up with real health care. Who knew health care was so complicated?
Leo Cohen
Durango
